DOES THE MONSTER HAVE A SOUL?

Listen to the following podcast.
Richard Holmes on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"
AgeofWonder.jpg
AgeofWonder.jpg

Richard Holmes is fascinated by what he calls "The Age of Wonder."The subtitle of his book is "how the romantic generation discovered the beauty and the terror of science," and he tells Steve Paulson about how Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" came directly out of the scientific climate of the time.


Alternative link to the podcast:
http://ttbook.org/book/richard-holmes-mary-shelleys-frankenstein

Answer in writing the following question:
Richard Holmes, author of, The Age of Wonder, explores the debate over whether or not the monster in Shelly's novel Frankenstein has a soul. Does the monster have a soul? Support your response by responding to at least one of Homes' statements in the interview AND a quotation from Shelly's novel.

THE UNCANNY VALLEY

How does the uncanny valley explain Victor Frankenstein's reaction to his creation?

Why not seize this power?

In his essay, “Treading in God’s Domain”, Lee M. Silver argues that nearly every culture has cautionary tales (Garden of Eden, Tower of Babel, Prometheus, etc.). He then asks, why is the line between the domain of humans and the domain of God been drawn at different places by different people? He ends his essay with the following statement:

Human essence came into existence simply because those with it could out-compete and kill those without it. But if human minds have the ability to contemplate and direct changes in the copies of their own genomes that they give to future generations, the human mind is much more that the genes that brought it into existence. While selfish genes do, indeed, control all other forms of life, master and slave have switched positions in human beings, who now have the power not only to control but to create new genes for themselves.


Why not seize this power? Why not control what has been left to chance in the past? Indeed, we control all other aspects of our children’s lives and identities through powerful social and environmental influences and, in some cases, with the use of powerful drugs like Ritalin or Prozac. On what basis can we reject positive genetic influences on a person’s essence when we accept the rights of parents to benefit their children in every other way?



Journal Entry: What rules should be established to help
regulate the creation of human organs in the laboratory?



POEM RESPONSE: "THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US" BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH